Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Written by Marianne Williamson and spoken by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 Inaugural Speech

How I got Started Making Power Patches

It was 1988. My marriage had ended. I had never been on my own. I had stayed home with my kids, kept house and did my art (painting and quilts) for 23 years. Now, I lived alone in a condo, and I needed to figure out how I was going to make a living. I was exhibiting my quilts all over the U.S.; I had sold a few of my quilts and paintings, but I had never taught a class. I wanted to teach classes in quilting. I wanted to sell something that was made by me. I decided to create a T-shirt business. I would put some of my artwork on T-shirts and sell those. That way people could buy something small, that was usable, and my work would be more available to more people. So, I experimented and tried some designs. I came up with appliquéd animals on squares of fabric. These were embellished with acrylic paint and then appliquéd onto the shirts. I learned about buying the shirts wholesale; I had a Rep, who sold the shirts to shops and went to trade shows, etc. I did very well with this in the first year, and then I began having more teaching jobs for quilting workshops, and I sold the shirts to my students. These shirts became my uniform—I wore them all the time. I have about thirty designs in all. After about twelve years, I became less interested in the shirts, but I still made the animal squares and discovered that people would buy just the patch.

I have used these patches for so many things! I have made them into purses, jackets and pillows. All of the curtains in my house are made of these animal patches sewn together. At night, when it is dark outside and my lights are on inside, illuminating the bright colors of the fabrics and the shapes of the animals, the windows look like stained glass! I have also used them as components in my art quilts; they make wonderful borders. They also make perfect quilts when assembled into a nine patch with a three-inch border.

Sometimes I take one of the patches and stretch it over some small stretcher bars, so it’s like a small painting. I add more embellishment, and it’s a small but powerful artwork to hang on the wall! Two of the T-shirts stretched over the seats of my car make great seat covers! I also have a couple of wonderful skirts made of these “Power Patches”. In the beginning they were an answer to a prayer. They provided a connection with people and gave me money when I needed it. Through the years, I have kept all of the templates and used them again and again, and when a new batch of patches is finished, it is always fresh and new and a delight. These “Power Patches” are beginning to have a life of their own. I would say that they most definitely still are answered prayer.